Sound Transit gave riders and would-be riders some bad news last week—construction costs for light rail expansion have skyrocketed to the tune of an additional $30 million.

All options are on the table, according to Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine.

Tuesday morning, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell held a news conference in Ballard to announce plans to curb costs for light rail expansions to Ballard and West Seattle. First, the mayor said he will streamline the city’s permitting processes, cutting red tape and getting projects approved faster and finished sooner.

“Time is money. We’ve all grown up hearing that. We have to advance our projects quickly. Every single day of delay adds unnecessary expense to taxpayers,” Harrell said.

Harrell said he will also increase the city’s staff that wor

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